My mum is withholding my inheritance from my grandfather because of ideological reasons

[Camde]

None of this is confirmed, but I have strong suspicions.

my grandfather sadly passed away last year. He owned a very successful business, and was very generous with all his grand kids.

since he died, I have heard my mother (his daughter) and uncle having conversations about dealing with the inheritance from him. For context, I know that my uncle received enough to pay off all the mortgage on his new £1.2m house, so I know my mum likely received a similar amount.

My grandfather also told me before he passed a few times that I’d be receiving a good inheritance and shouldn’t waste it.

the issue is, my mother is very ideologically opposed to the idea of she or her kids inheriting money. She is very left wing, and believes that it is immoral for some people to receive inheritances when others don’t receive anything. Therefore, she has refused her portion of the inheritance.

it also means that I have no idea how much I have inherited. She is the executor of the will, and I have not seen it. I only ask as I’m saving up to buy a house, and it would be great to know whether I’m likely to receive any money to help with a deposit.

Every time I’ve asked her about my inheritance, she gets very angry and accuses me of not loving my grandfather and only caring about his money, which isn’t true.

how do I deal with this? I don’t want to fall out with my mum over this, and she is still very much grieving.

Contact the solicitor dealing with the probate and ask them. Your mother has no right to withhold it from you.

@BruFord That could be the case, but if so, why isn’t her Mum telling her what the trust’s terms are? If, for example, none of the grandchildren can receive any money until they’re 25+, why not just say that?
The fact that she refuses to discuss it makes me suspicious tbh.

Yes your right, I agree that why she needs to see a copy of the will.

I can’t see how you wouldn’t have the ability to claim if your brother provided false information

Quite. Surely a discretionary trust still means the money at some point will make it to the beneficiaries. The trustees can’t just give it to charity if elsewhere or ignore it. The beneficiaries are still the beneficiaries

@RusticChips Yes when my children (young adult and older teen) have questions for me, I’m always relieved when I have a definite answer…otherwise I can be nagged at (Why? That’s not logical, etc. etc.). 😂

Yes, and to be fair, it does seems though she’s going against your grandfather’s wishes, and while it might not be illegal, it does seem to be at least somewhat unethical. Particularly given her profession.

Or my father saying I would get everything from him as I was his only dd. He didn’t leave a will and at the time of his death we were estranged. His brother then denied I existed and took everything.

The rules of intestacy in England and UK mean that children take priority over siblings. Being "estranged" is meaningless. Your uncle has committed fraud.

Why is your mum being cagey if there's nothing to hide?

Maybe what would be best for everyone is to give all the money to the Cats Protection. Family problems finished and lots of happy kitties.

Why do people keep mentioning Solicitors 🙄?
If Mum is executor, it’s perfectly possible that’s she’s also doing probate with no solicitor involved. It may take months to see the details online.

What I suspect, and I set up a similar arrangement when I was single for my son who was only about three at the time is ........

(I havnt read all the posts BTW)

When the will was written the grandchildren were 'infants' and it may have anticipated grandchildren not yet born

A bequest was left for the grandchildren in the form of a discretionary trust, this would allow the trustees to pay out money to the grandchildren if necessary otherwise they would get the money at a defined age

Because the OP's mother is apparently a Corporate solicitor. I am a solicitor and if what the OP says is what is actually happening the OP's mother is a very stupid solicitor with a shaky grasp of the rules of conflict, professional ethics and professional practice and the duties of trustees.

But if the OP wants to challenge what her mum is doing she will need her own solicitor.

Whatever you do act quickly...my family have been involved in a complex issue around a will that has been going on now for over 10 years. It will be very difficult for anyone to receive what they should have as although the law is on side it's hard to make people pay back money when they have none and no assets in their name!

@JohnofWessex That may well be how this discretionary trust is also set up-that’s why I can’t understand why her Mum doesn’t just explain the trust’s term to her child so they know when the money will be available to them-when they’re older perhaps

Her refusal to discuss the trust makes me suspicious that she’s not abiding by the terms and hoping that the OP will drop the subject.

Any will requiring probate will be made available to the public as part of the process. It'll be necessary to apply for probate if the estate includes any property, stocks and shares or an amount of money above that that any particular financial institution has set as a limit.

I'm having to get probate for my late DF just because he had savings of over £20k in a particular building society - they won;t release the money without it.

Exactly - the bequest (if there is one) is being held away from the OP.

Why wouldnt you get a solicitor

Ask a Solicitor No win no fee

1. it's not complete if it's done unlawfully
2. you mother will not known if you find out the terms of the will. You can do this easily online. She will not be informed
3. you should understand if she's forfilled the will lawfully.
4. you can easily leave your uncle out of this.

Ultimately this is between you and your grandfather. What did HE want? Your mum wanting different is an important thing for you to know but you have a legal right to understand your grandfather and whatever decision your mother has made. Because this impacts you.

@Camde its quite complex. My sister didn’t want her share of her inheritance. It had to be refused legally. Surely though, she could accept her share and it pass down to you? (inheritance goes down, not sideways). I’m no expert though. I can recommend a good solicitor I used who specialises in wills and probate if you need it.

This simply isn’t true at all.

If they are jointly owned they do.

But you didn’t say that did you? If a spouse inherits everything ( quite usual) probate is needed for everything not jointly owned - and that must happen quite often eg ISAs

Jointly owned property if owned as joint tenants passes to a surviving spouse automatically - no probate involved. Tenants in common is different - the deceased share passes to those named in any will. If there is no will, it passes to the legal heir/next of kin. Again, no probate involved.

You should apply to the probate office for an inventory and account of the estate. That will yell you how the estate was shared